Vhi HealthClub

Vhi Health Club - February 27th

Vhi Health Club is an online consumer health show available each and every Tuesday on vhi.ie and podcastingireland.ie. In this edition presenter Aileen O’Meara hears the moving story of Ingrid Doyle who lost her daughter Hannah to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Ingrid talks about the shock and how she worried it would affect her marriage but says as a family they have learnt to live with the loss and the fact they do not know what killed Hannah. Training expert Philip Phelan concludes our two month ‘Get Fit and Lose Weight’ programme with tips for staying healthy and fit for the rest of the year and stress counsellor Karen Belshaw talks about how men cope with stress in their lives and says going to the pub with the mates for a few drinks can be healthy when its helping guys get rid of work stress!

Vhi health Club is available free every Tuesday on vhi.ie and podcastingireland.ie and remember to email us your views and health stories to healthclub@vhi.ie.

Listen to the whole show HERE or choose from the stories below...

(12 minutes 00secs)

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome – One Mother’s Story

The loss of a child is a very traumatic experience and can be even more so when the cause is unknown. In 1997 Ingrid Doyle lost her seven month old daughter Hannah to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. After finding her crying and gasping for air, Ingrid called an ambulance but unfortunately Hannah died in hospital. Here Ingrid talks about the experience, the effect on her family and her marriage and how a support group helped her and her husband cope.

Listen here…

(4 minutes 15 secs)

Get Fit & Lose Weight - The Final Step

It’s been eight weeks and we are now at the end of our ‘Get Fit & Lose Weight Programme’.  We hope you are fitter and healthier! Training guru Philip Phelan is back with us encouraging diversity in our training cycles and says we should try something new every few months to keep our exercise interest alive. Philip suggests working to a goal like the Mini Marathon, for those who have just started training, or a Triathlon, for the more advanced, to keep our training focused for the whole year.

Congratulations to all of you who have followed this two month programme – do email us your stories and goals on healthclub@vhi.ie

Listen Here….

(3 minutes 43 secs)

Men & Stress

Stress – it affects all of us at one time or another, but how we cope with stress is very different between men and women. We hear from men on the street about what stresses them out, and how they do or don’t cope, while stress counsellor Karen Belshaw joins Aileen O’Meara to talk about men, stress and the, what Karen calls, classic behaviour of men seeking the company of other men, even just for a quit pint, to cope with their stress.  Tune in to hear more about coping with stress and about changing our ‘self-talk’ as Karen calls it to enjoy a more stressfree life.

Listen Here…

(3 minutes 15 secs)

Vhi Health Club February 20th

In this edition of Vhi Health Club, the online consumer health show, our dietician Nuala Collins is back to guide us through the final weeks and gives advice on how we get our five fruits a day without hassle.  In week seven of our Get Fit and Lose Weight progamme Nuala encourages us to give up alcohol for the final stage in order to really reach our weight loss goals. Presenter Aileen O’Meara meets heart attack and quadruple by-pass survivor Thomas Bergin who talks about living with heart disease and how working with the Irish Heart Foundation support group has really helped him recover. Our resident psychotherapist John Sharry continues his parenting series and looks at the issue of the ‘shy child’ and how parents can help.

Vhi health Club is available free every Tuesday on vhi.ie and podcastingireland.ie and remember to email us your views and health stories to healthclub@vhi.ie.

Listen to the complete show HERE or choose from the segments below...

(11 minutes 54secs)

Get Fit and Lose Weight – Week 7

We are in to the last phase of our Get fit and lose Weight in two months programme with two weeks remaining We’re in week seven and resident dietician Nuala Collins is back with the encouraging news that our results should be showing and that our new eating habits are lifestyle changes for the long-term. Nuala gives simple and easy to follow tips on how to fit in the recommended five portions of fruit and veg a day and encourages us to give up alcohol for just one week in order to really make sure we reach our goals. In amazing she says what cutting out beer, wine and spirits, even for a week, can do.  Make a diary, she says, of your daily diet before and after and really see what a difference regular meals, eating breakfast and avoiding snacks and fast food can make, not just to out waist but our overall health and well-being.

Listen here…

(4 minutes 55 secs)

Surviving Heart Disease – One man’s Story

Dubliner Thomas Bergin suffered his first heart attack as a young man twenty one years ago and later discovered he had a family history of heart disease. Since then he has been diagnosed with blocked arteries and underwent a quadruple bypass operation in 2000. Thomas now has an internal defibrillator in his heart and has set up a support group for others in the same situation. The defibrillator kicks in if his hearts stops beating – it’s a bit like a horse kick he says and encourages other to reach out and get help and support if they too are living with heart disease.  He talks to Aileen O’Meara about his story and how he remains positive by helping others.

Listen Here….

(4 minutes 15 secs)

The ‘Shy Child’ syndrome – How to cope

It can be heart breaking for a parent to see their child with low self esteem and extreme shyness. What causes social shyness can be a mixture of things as John Sharry, our parenting expert, explains. In tackling the issue he says it's a good idea to find out what makes your child connect with others and to work with their interests to help create a network of friends and indeed help them find their niche in life. John stresses that being a shy child does not predict self esteem problems in adulthood and talking to your child, continuing to listen and hear, is the most important action any parent can take.Listen Here…

(1 minute 58 secs)

Vhi Health Club - February 13th 2007

In this edition of our online consumer health show, Vhi Health Club, fitness expert Philip Phelan returns with advice on enlivening our fitness regime to sustain us through the last few weeks of our ‘Get Fit and Lose Weight’  programme and Presenter Aileen O Meara meets one woman who says joining a gym changed her life for the better. Midwife Georgina Farren talks us through the experience of pregnancy for older mums who are having their first child in their late thirties and forties. And coping with a death - we re-visit the topic of bereavement with Breffni McGuinness of the Irish Hospice Foundation who talks about dealing with bereavement particularly at work and in the workplace.

Vhi health Club is available free every Tuesday on vhi.ie and podcastingireland.ie and remember to email us your views and health stories to healthclub@vhi.ie.

Listen to the full show HERE or choose from the stories below...

(13 minutes 00secs)

Get Fit and Lose Weight – Week 6

Fitness expert Philip Phelan helps us through the last few weeks of our eight week plan.  He says we should now be feeling the positive impact of our work so far and now is the time to determine the key areas we need to change and to re-assess our fitness plan. The most important part at this stage is to stay on track and to remember that if you miss a few dates at the gym to continue with the programme after the break. Also, compare your results now to when you started, this will be great motivation!  Tune in to hear Philips advice and also to hear the story of Deborah Lawlor who joined a gym four years ago and hasn’t looked back since.

Listen Here...

(4 minutes 31 secs)